


Second Heartbeat

by violetshade



Series: Blinded In Chains [3]
Category: Avenged Sevenfold
Genre: F/M, Shads can sing Sinatra, Tragic Loss, band looks out for their Violet, crying Shads, dancing the night away, pissy Shads, sexy tango Zacky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-13 01:43:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12972969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetshade/pseuds/violetshade
Summary: Matt and Violet get through a traumatic experience so the band has a fun night out to try and forget."He's the father, if that's what you're asking."





	Second Heartbeat

After they all climbed in the limo, the boys started jumping off the walls.  
Synyster popped the champagne and passed it around, "How did you two do that for a whole day all by yourselves?!?!" He pointed at Vi, "I mean, our photos are gonna be hot, but they can't be anything compared to you guys."  
Zacky chugged the Brut, "I don't know about you guys, but I'm way too amped!! Where we goin'?"  
"Like this?" Brooks asked before his round.  
"Fuck yeah!!" Shadows put on his shades even though it was 10 at night, "We're fuckin' Avenged Sevenfold! We do whatever the fuck we want!"  
The limo driver found just the place.

They were led by a couple of bodyguards into what was clearly made to look like a vampire's lair. It was extremely dark, the lights looked like candles, dark velvet covered most of the furniture. They fit in so well, no one recognized them when they came in. They went straight for the dance floor while an intern got them drinks. Shadows pulled Violet up against his hard body, still wearing his shades.  
"You realize you're probably more recognizable in your shades than out, right?" She yelled over the music.  
He just smiled and put them on top of his head, knowing she just wanted to see his eyes. He tried to play it cool as they danced, talking to her, but also talking to the guys every now and then. Synyster almost immediately found a girl to dance with. After having a couple of beers, Zacky pulled her away for a song. He was about her height when she wore heels, so talking to him was a little easier.  
"I don't think I've ever been that nervous during a photo shoot," He admitted, a shy look on his face despite a darker look in his light electric green eyes.  
"Whatever, Vengeance," She smirked at him, "You knew exactly what you were doing."  
His double pierced smile was truly wicked, "You have to admit it was fun." She just matched his look, and danced with him as he behaved and kept his hands at her waist. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of a hot young thing getting a hold of Shadows. By this time of night they'd all (except for her) had a few, but she thought they could still use a round, so she excused herself to go to the bar so she didn't have to watch M. dance with somebody else. As she stood there waiting, several sets of eyes checked her out. The guy that came up to her made her laugh when she turned around. He was a Shadows wannabe, from two full sleeves to the backwards hat and shades to the Iron Maiden shirt.  
"So are you with any of those guys or can I buy you a drink?" He stepped way too close to her. She didn't step away from his moves but kept laughing at him, "No, but also no."  
"C'mon, you'll dance with those guys, but not me?"  
"She said no, asshole."  
Violet turned around to see Shadows standing behind the guy, arms crossed, shades back on. The threatening tone in his voice, the tall way he stood, and the hard line his jaw set made her mouth go dry and her heart race. The guy made the mistake of stepping up.  
"I'm sorry, do you own her?" The guy got in Shadows' face.  
"Nobody owns her, buddy." M. got back in his face. At this point they had a small crowd's attention.  
"Then maybe you should step off--" As soon as the guy said it, Shadows had his fist in the air and connected with his face. The other guy hit the ground hard. Their bodyguards immediately saw what happened and knew they had to get them out before anyone recognized them. They scrambled to get out the door and tried to hide them from any video or pictures.  
Back in the limo, the guys all high fived and fist bumped and got even more amped up. Violet sat in the corner, watching him, not believing that he would do that for her. She found it so animalistic, so hot, she wasn't sure what to make of it. She did her best to shake it off and act like one of them.  
"Are you done, big shot?" Violet called him out from where she sat in the corner, a smug look on her face but a flirty look in her eyes. Shadows started to crawl her way, but Syn grabbed him by a belt loop, "Down boy."  
M. finally started to calm down, holding his bloody hand.  
When they all got to the band's apartment, Violet grabbed something frozen and held it to his knuckles.  
"You really shouldn't have done that, somebody probably got a shot of you."  
M. looked confidently down at her, "It turned you on, though, didn't it?" He cocked his head to the side, dimples beaming. Violet rolled her eyes and pretended to be exasperated with him, walking away. Worth it, he thought.

The next morning she woke up before anyone else, since she hadn't been drinking. She lay in his bed, alone. When she creeped out into the living room, she stared at Shadows as he laid sprawled out over the couch, his long legs hanging over the edge. For whatever reason he was shirtless, and had a pillow over his face. After taking him in for a minute, she knelt next to him and moved the pillow.  
His gorgeous face broke into a smile as he kept one eye shut, "Hey, beautiful."  
"You can go sleep in your own bed now. I'm going to go shower and go to work."  
"Can I come?" He joked.  
"I'll see you at work," She looked into his beautiful green eyes before getting up and leaving.

The next few days were a whirlwind of media questions, the band working hard in the studio, and other welcome distractions. They all worked long hours to stay distracted. When Shadows could sleep, he had bad dreams of Jimmy, of suicide, of his rape, of his baby being aborted, of Violet dying in childbirth. He drank just like he had before, not being able to see her most of the time. The guys in the band hoped Matt would talk to them if he needed to, but none of them dared bring up a possible addition to the family. They were all trying to keep themselves distracted, focusing on waiting for Friday's mail--when their copy of Rolling Stone would show up and they'd get to see M. and Violet in all their glory.

 

Friday morning they all sat in Violet's office at 8 a.m., since that's usually when the mail got there. An intern walked in at 8:05 and dropped the stack on her desk. They all scrambled to get a copy and stared. The cover was so epic no one said a word and no one could stop staring at it.  
It read, "Just Friends: M. Shadows and Violet Shade come clean-and dirty."  
Her mouth was slightly open, ever so slightly curved up on one side. Her eyelids were heavy, lids part way closed as she looked down at the camera from where here head was slightly leaned back. Her right hand was held out to the side by her wrist, Shadows strong hand forcing it there. Her other hand was holding onto his flexed bicep. Her legs were planted apart, sexy heels showing off her legs that seemed to go for miles, right up to her short skirt. His other hand was spread across her bare stomach. His legs were planted apart just behind hers, his body up against hers. His hair was slicked back for this one, to make him look more like "Beast and the Harlot", his fangs bared just about to sink into her inviting neck. His black-eyelinered eyes glared up at the camera from where he had bent over slightly to bite her.  
For a minute they just looked around the room at one another. Shadows was leaning against the wall when he finally raised his eyes to meet hers. It was even better than they had imagined.  
"Hello, spank bank. Damn," Zacky looked up to give her a dirty look. Synyster hit him on the arm, "Dude, gross."  
"We all know you got the hots for me, bro," Shadows snickered. Zacky turned to him and blew him a kiss and a wink.  
Soon they were all shuffling through the magazine to find the article. The next picture was equally stunning. It perfectly captured the moment she was in his lap, him grinning at her after he had told her how hard he was. It looked light hearted, since she was rolling her eyes, even though he had such a naughty look on his face, and she held him by a collar and a chain.  
"Fuck guys, this just gets hotter and hotter." Syn flipped through the rest.  
The next one took M.'s breath away. It was them in the white, with her snuggled up next to him. Her hand was on his chest, and his one hand was over hers while the other one held her around the waist. She looked down, and he looked down at her. It was serious and provocatively intimate.  
Shadows couldn't pull his eyes away from her lowered lashes, the innocent look of her face, "You don't think this is...a little too far?" He swallowed. She knew he meant the white picture. She didn't say a word.  
The last page was a collage of four pictures of them messing around.  
Raven beamed, "I think this does exactly what you wanted, really really well. Congratulations, for starting such an insane stunt."  
"Hey, he's not insane, he's not insane," Zacky snapped his fingers, making a joke of one of their lyrics, "This is crazy fucking awesome though." He continued to leaf through the pages.  
Violet checked Rolling Stone's website. They released the video interview early, even though the magazine didn't hit the shelves until Monday.  
"I don't know how you guys pulled that off, but in that interview it actually looks like you're just best friends," Synyster shrugged after he had seen it.  
"Yeah he's right. After being near you two, well, ever, I don't understand it. Great acting." Johnny was as flabbergasted as the rest of them.  
Just then Violet dropped the magazine, leaning over and holding her desk as pain ripped through her body. Shadows raced to her, dropping to one knee, "Violet...?" His nightmares flashed through his mind as he held her hand. She squeezed it, hard, and winced, crying out.  
He looked down to see blood dripping from her chair. She was in his arms in an instant. All the men were suddenly on their feet and on high alert, needing to protect her.  
"There's a nurse's office on the 20th," Raven ran with everyone into the elevator. They all stared nervously at Shadows as he held their bloody producer in his arms.  
"Baby, Violet, talk to me," Shadows whispered in her ear.  
Her head rested on his shoulder, so she didn't see the disappointed look on his face when she whispered ever so painfully in his ear, "I'm miscarrying."  
Horrified looks crept over the others' faces as they realized what was happening.  
They stormed into the room and he put her on the exam table in the middle of it. The nurse, Dante, looked around horrified and ordered everyone out of the room. Raven and Shadows planted their feet, letting him know they weren't leaving. After Dante relented, M. gave a look to his band mates that told them they should wait outside.  
Raven pointed at them, "Find something to clean up that trail of blood with."  
Dante put her feet in stirrups as she cried out in pain. Raven held one of her hands and Shadows held the other. Dante examined her quickly and stood up, looking at Shadows, "She's miscarrying. Are you responsible for this?"  
M. was visibly extremely upset and was about to respond inappropriately, when Violet interrupted him.  
"He's the father, if that's what you're asking."  
Their eyes met briefly before he had a meltdown. He sank into a chair next to her and cried into her shoulder. One hand still held hers, while the other rested on her stomach. Her words had sliced right to his core, laying bare so much of what he had been struggling with. They laid there, suffering together as their creation ended.  
Outside, the band stood around silently, not knowing how to process what was going on.  
"So she really was pregnant..." Johnny mumbled.  
"Yeah..." Zacky stared at the floor, "It's been almost six years and I still have a hard time being around any place that even resembles a hospital."  
Synyster put a hand on his shoulder, "We all do, man. And I guarantee you that's on M.'s mind right now as he deals with this loss."

Dante took the arm that Raven held and inserted an I.V.  
"No drugs..." Violet groaned.  
Dante gave her a look but relented, "Fine, this will keep you hydrated. I'm sorry, but at this point we just have to wait until it's over."  
Raven met Violet's eyes and squeezed her hand before leading the nurse out of the room to explain how silent he would have to be about this.  
Shadows stroked her hair with his free hand, "It's almost over, baby...I'm so sorry..."  
"Don't apologize..." She tried to breathe normally, "I wouldn't trade it."  
Shadows smiled weakly. He tried to remind himself to be strong--he was the man, the man that had been weak enough to put them in the current situation, the man that had to step up now.  
One last bad cramp hit Violet and made her cry out as more of it left her body. She hadn't known pain like this before, but once the last wave hit her, she fell back on the bed, immediately relieved since the cramps were subsiding.  
Shadows kissed her sweaty forehead, "Is it over?"  
She nodded as she started coming back to reality, "I think so...". As her hand held his face, everything that they couldn't say out loud passed between them as they just looked at each other. They were both crying, letting it all out so they could move on.  
Dante came back in to check her vitals, "I'll clean her up, buddy. You can wait outside."  
Shadows washed off his own hands and arms, squeezed her hand and left. He walked into the hallway where the others sat, wiping his face and sniffling, blood all over his shirt.  
"She okay?" Zacky stood up with the rest of them when he closed the door.  
He nodded, eyes on the floor and still wiping his face, "Yeah, she'll be okay."  
Each one of his brothers gave him a hug, whispering "I'm sorry, man," not really understanding everything, but understanding the two had just lost something. Raven realized at that moment, despite all the chaos, the Duo had created a relationship with this band in just a few weeks that was unlike anything they had with their other bands. The guys in the band cared about M., but they were also clearly very worried about Violet. The Duo had to find a way to make this work and not fuck it up...  
Shadows sat with the rest of them, leaning his elbows on his knees and looking at his hands, emotionally exhausted, "This is what she wanted...I mean, obviously not like this, but...it's less complicated now....And...I'm so glad she didn't have to make the choice." They all agreed, not thinking of it that way.  
"Here, make sure you don't throw that old one away anywhere in this building," Raven tossed Shadows a new shirt, which he immediately changed into.  
A few moments later, Violet emerged followed by Dante.  
"I would insist on keeping you here, but someone might see you. I'm sure you'll be fine, but I don't want you going home and being alone. I'd go get some sleep in the Bedroom. I'll come check on you in an hour or so."  
"Thank you, Dante. Your discretion is much appreciated," Violet tried to stand tall, feeling uncomfortable with so many worried eyes looking at her. She turned to go and when Shadows made a move to follow her, Synyster grabbed him by the back of his shirt, "Oh no you don't. Remember the last time you were in that room with her. C'mon, we got work to do," He walked past him and looked down at Violet, kissing her forehead, "I'm glad you're okay."  
Zacky touched her cheek and then kissed it, "You're such a fighter, Vi." The rest of them kissed her forehead as they left, waiting for Shadows by the elevator. M. put his arms around her, "No more scaring the shit outta me, k?" He made her smile by flashing his dimples before following the band. Violet was immediately squashed into a huge bear hug by Raven, who had done a good job holding it in until the band left, "Vi, I have never been that scared in my life...I'm so relieved this is over as I'm sure you are." She nodded and he took her upstairs to the Bedroom.

While the rest of the band worked on new music, Shadows mostly stared out the window and flipped through the magazine. Their ridiculously perfect pictures stared back at him, taunting him. God she was so hot. And had apparently been pregnant with his baby...He was trying to tell himself not to trust his emotions, that it had been a roller coaster of a week and it seemed like more than it actually was...but that was becoming harder and harder. But it didn't matter, he told himself, they couldn't be together anyway. M. had always been the darkest one--while he was often fun to be around to his brothers, to everyone else he was the tough guy who had a chip on his shoulder. He told himself a real metal god wouldn't be falling after a goddess, so he had to become that metal god again. No matter how hard being friends got, he couldn't wind up here again.  
Shadows practiced their two new songs for awhile, asking Raven for his ear. At about one o'clock, he left the room to go upstairs. Syn saw him leave and motioned Zacky to follow him.

Shadows and Vengeance crept into her room as she still slept. Raven had helped her change out of her bloody clothes and into some clothes she kept in her office. They both climbed on the bed on either side of her and she slowly awoke and sat up. M. handed her the magazine, "I thought you might want to look at it again."  
Zacky settled in next to her, "You guys are about to become another level of famous. The press is going to go fucking nuts. And then when Metal Hammer comes out? Fuck...it's gonna be insaaane."  
She read the article on and off as the three of them talked.  
"So you saw us on tour this summer, and came backstage?" Zacky asked.  
Shadows answered before she could, "Yeah, she was wearing this crazy shirt dress thing that was all torn and shit. It was awesome."  
"Nice." Zacky nodded back before Violet gave them a look.  
"You ever think about being a mom?" Zacky thought he'd get her talking about it, assuming she needed to.  
"Duuuude!!!" Shadows gave him an alarmed look over her head.  
"It's okay," Violet leafed through the magazine, "I've been answering that question for 10 years. I've always been extremely career driven. I sleep with who I want, but I'm not on the pill, so I've done my research on everything you could possibly find out about getting pregnant--so that I don't. I've always had one rule: when I'm ovulating, I don't have sex for those 3-4 days--until two weeks ago. I've never really wanted kids...it's just not me..." She stared straight ahead, "But then when you're actually pregnant," Her voice became barely audible, "It really fucks with you..."  
M. kissed the top of her head and gave Zacky a look.  
Vengeance grabbed her hand, "I'm sorry, Vi, if that was--"  
"No, Zacky, I'm okay talking about it with you guys..."  
She started to get out of the bed as the other two begged her not to, when Raven stormed in.  
"You guys are gonna be on SNL."  
Shadows kissed Violet full on the lips before jumping off the bed towards Raven, "Are you fucking serious?"  
Zacky laid back and put an arm around Violet, "You really started something."  
Violet snuggled up to Zacky, "You're welcome, Vengeance."  
When Shadows turned around and saw them snuggling, he grabbed Zacky by the shirt and pulled him out of the bed, "If I can't have her, neither can you, brother."  
He looked over at her evilly as she gazed back.

When they walked into Raven's office where the rest of the band was, they all went crazy--high fives and good games and hugs.  
"SNL called after seeing the Rolling Stone video. Just imagine when the magazine hits. I'll admit you guys aren't going to have much studio time after Monday for awhile. Depending on who calls we'll try and not overload you, but we definitely want to take advantage of this. Tomorrow night we're having another party upstairs, but other than that you guys can do whatever you want until Monday."  
Synyster put his hands on Violet's shoulders, "I know you haven't had a drink in a week. We're takin' you out tonight!"  
Violet beamed.  
Brooks interrupted, "How about we change it up a little? Like really dress up and go somewhere classy and make a scene?"  
Raven grinned, "We do have a huge wardrobe of stuff downstairs."  
They blew off the rest of the afternoon and messed around downstairs figuring out what to wear. Most of the guys wanted and got Violet's help. But then hours later, they all insisted on picking her outfit. She protested until Zacky came out with an evening dress that looked like it had been made for her.

Eight o'clock came and they all met in the lounge. Shadows was the first one there, not wanting to miss Violet's entrance. Sure enough, she was second.  
The long black dress was slit far up the side and revealed her sexy legs in high heels as she walked towards him. Purple flames encircled the bottom of the dress. Her hair curled down her back and was clipped partly up with a purple feather, and as usual her makeup was done expertly in her black and purple. While getting ready, she had felt like her make up was literally covering up her pain...it was nice.  
As she made her way from the elevator to him, her breath caught in her chest. There he stood, hands in the pockets of his black slacks. His fitted black vest was over a dark purple shirt with the sleeves rolled up. His hair was slicked back and eyeliner done, green eyes firing.  
"Honey..." He looked her up and down, speechless.  
She was speechless as well, "Shads..."  
He tried to remind himself to be strong. The closeness they shared was still awkward and sensitive between them since they had been through so much together in such a short time. But that night was clearly about forgetting all that and having fun. He took her hand.  
"You look...exceptionally incredible my dear." He bowed.  
She curtsied, "And you certainly take a girl's breath away."  
He stepped closer to her, taking her cheek in his hand, "You are most certainly no girl, but so much woman, Violet."  
She thought she might faint, and was very relieved when everyone else showed up. Violet turned around, struck by how good looking the group of men walking towards them was.  
Zacky wore a suit and bow tie, his bangs back like he did when he got dressed up, his snakebites glittering in the dark room. Synyster's hair was slicked up, high, and back, looking dapper in his black collared shirt, suspenders and slacks. Christ went with red vest and tie over black that accented the red he put in his short mohawk. Brooks had chosen pinstripes and kinda looked like a gangster. Raven went with a completely black suit and had just close cut his beard to round out the look.  
They all stood around, giving approving looks at one another until their limo pulled up.  
"My boys look good." Violet laughed as they all let her get in first. Shadows immediately noticed once he sat down next to her how incredibly high the slit in her dress went when she was sitting down. He took a deep breath, putting on his aviators and shaking his head.

"We are some good looking mother fuckers," Vengeance smiled, "Alright. Let's go fuck with some squares."

They pulled up to the Rockefeller Center to a crowd of flashing cameras. As they climbed out the questions fired. A concierge escorted them up to the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor, a place none of them had been before. Each of them did their best to hide their awe as they walked into the art deco ballroom where a big band played on stage. As they were seated, most of the room stared at them. Shadows kept his glasses on, pulling Violet's chair out for her, and asked the waiter to bring the Crystal. After they sat, M. finally removed the aviators, flashing his outlined green eyes at her as they poured the champagne.  
Synyster was the one to raise his glass first, "To Raven and Violet. I think this is a match made in heaven and that this can work. As long as Shadows can keep it in his pants," He sneered as everyone busted out laughing, even M. who blushed and knew he had that coming. He raised his glass and sarcastically answered, "Cheers, dorks."  
Dinner consisted of dishes none of them could pronounce and that they immediately made fun of. The rest of the room consisted of mostly people who had no idea who they were--just that they didn't fit. Raven leaned into Violet's ear and nodded towards two girls on the other side of the room. Probably not quite 18, the two sat at a table, looking their way flirtingly and whispering to one another.  
"Uh, oh, here they come," Raven warned the rest of them. Assuming they were coming over to talk to Shadows, everyone was surprised when one walked up to Zacky and the other to Johnny. Soon they were off to the dance floor, giving haughty looks as they did so. Synyster put up his hands and looked at Brooks, "I guess fuck us then."  
Shadows got up and offered his hand, not asking. She took it nervously, knowing they were about to be the focus of the whole room.  
He did his best to keep his hand on the small of her back and took her hand in his, leading her confidently.  
"Who taught you to dance?" She stared up into his green eyes.  
He smiled, "My first girlfriend."  
"She teach you anything else?" Violet's eyes darkened as she flirted.  
Shadows laughed, the question catching him off guard, "Yes, she taught me lots of things. I wish I could show you, especially since you're being such a tease," He called her out.  
"Me?" She answered innocently, "You're the one who asked me to dance."  
Shadows had no come back, "That dress, Violet...you...you're killin' me."  
They were both kind of relieved when the song was over. When he sat back down and Zacky followed, he leaned over to whisper to his shorter guitar player, who just nodded. Violet noticed, but didn't say anything. Zacky then got up and disappeared, returning a minute later.  
"So did you guys get numbers?" Brooks asked the two.  
"Yes, but I'm very sure that's a jailbait of a bad idea," Zacky looked at Johnny, who nodded in agreement, "Not worth it."  
As the next song ended, both Shadows and Zacky got up and headed towards the stage to everyone's surprise.  
Shadows grabbed the microphone as Zacky set up an acoustic guitar.  
"Hi, I'm Matt Shadows and this is Zacky Vengeance. As most of you probably don't know, we're in the band Avenged Sevenfold and we're going to sing you a song," He paced the stage gracefully, "This song is dedicated to the beautiful woman on my arm tonight, Violet Shade. No we're not dating, but she is very special to me and we are all out celebrating with our two new producers tonight and I just thought I'd further complicate things," He laughed and got a few laughs. The drummer clicked his sticks and the whole group went into "The Way You Look Tonight."  
The guys all turned to look at Violet as she sat terrified, staring at Shadows, not believing that he would be this blatant. Such a romantic song, and his baritone singing it set her soul on fire. She quickly realized she had to be cool about it, so she began smiling and rolling her eyes like he was being silly. But on the inside she was really fanning herself, watching him sing with that beautiful voice, dressed to the nines and ready to kill.  
Synyster sat back and laughed, meeting Violet's eyes, "Oh man, that's so mean," He shook his head.  
"Thank you!" Violet gestured, glad someone else understood what was actually happening.  
Raven patted her hand, "You poor thing."  
The crowd whispered amongst themselves, watching a heavy metal star sing a Sinatra song--and well. Everyone in the room had looked over to see who Violet was at some point. When they were done, they got a standing ovation. Shadows turned and bowed to the band before returning to his seat. Instead of sitting down, he downed the rest of his glass of Crystal and held out his hand again to her. The beat was a little quicker, which made her heart race even faster. He swept her onto the dance floor, into a waltz.  
"You're acting like you're courting me, Matt."  
"I'm sorry, I can't help it," He grinned down at her as they dominated the dance floor. Why did his dimples have to be so goddamn deep? She loved being in his strong arms, his hand leading her, his long legs and tight ass in those tight slacks gracefully triple timing her heart.  
"I meant it. You are special to me. We've recently been through some...tough shit that brought us closer. If we have to be friends, fine. We'll make great friends," He seriously looked at her, taking her breath away.  
It took her several steps to respond, "Yes, Shadows, we will."  
When the song was over, they didn't want to stop being tangled up in one another, but knew they should sit down. They both downed their glasses the second they did.  
When the band started a tango, Raven and Violet's gazes met, knowing they should go out there and put on a show since they both happened to know how. Just before they both stood up, though, Zacky put his hands on her shoulders and whispered in her ear, "It takes two, Shade."  
She stood up and turned around, raising an eyebrow in surprise. He didn't say anything, but gave her his cocky smile instead. He took her hand, immediately twirling her into the dance the second they hit the floor. Violet wrapped her leg around him when she was curled back into his body, before going into the slow, sexy steps. He dipped her extremely well considering his size compared to hers, and pretty soon the whole room was watching them. Once this happened, they put on the theatrics and stared at one another, moving even more with the music, sexiness dripping from their dance moves. The band whooped and hollered from their seats, making an even bigger scene.  
"You're very good," Violet admitted as he expertly moved his hands around her.  
"You have no idea, goddess." His bright green eyes caught hers. God that devious smile was so cute. She just raised an eyebrow back before he dipped her dramatically again.  
When she was brought back up to his eye level, bodies intertwined, she whispered heavily, "Oh I think I have a few." Truth be told, it wasn't like she'd never fantasized about Zack, "This is much better than Afterlife." Her favorite thing about that music video had always been Zack, in his cute bowtie and tails.  
At that moment the song ended, and the room erupted in applause. Zacky brought her hand to his lips before showing her off to the crowd and then returning to their table. The rest of the band still applauded as they sat. Both got high fived, slapped on the back, and fist bumped. Raven figured this was a good time to leave, so they all got up like rock stars--putting on shades, buttoning jackets, and waving as they left.  
Back in the limo, Raven grabbed his camera and began snapping. The Crystal kept flowing as the music blared and the limo cruised. The group let go, intermittently yelling out of the moon roof, laughing and joking with one another. When Violet stuck her head out of the moon roof, Shadows pulled her back in, kissing her when she fell in his lap, leaning her over onto the seat. As they began making out, the others pulled them apart, and Raven captured every ridiculous moment. The camera was passed around as everyone took pictures with everyone else, along with more champagne. Eventually everyone had enough to drink that they didn't care when they found Violet straddling Shadows, his arms around her as their lips locked.  
The couple was interrupted when the limo pulled up in front of the band's apartment. Other hands pulled them apart and ushered them inside.  
Synyster wagged a finger at them, barely upright himself, "You two...no funny...business...."  
"Yeah...only serious business," Zacky laughed as he stumbled to what he thought was his room.  
The couple fell on his bed together, but fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning, Shadows awoke to the beautiful sight of Violet beside him, but a raging hangover. When he raised his head, he spotted Zacky on the other side of Violet. In one explosive second, he had shoved Zacky off the bed, and Violet was suddenly sitting up in bed.  
"What the fuck are doing in here, dude?" Shadows stood up, trying to steady himself.  
Zacky tried to stand as well, falling over first, "Man, I don't know! Why the fuck am I in your bedroom?!?"  
"Get the fuck out, man!" Shadows insisted. Once he left, Shadows gathered a barely waking Violet into his arms, kissing the top of her head and going back to sleep with her up against his naked chest.

When they awoke around 11:15 a.m. they all slowly stumbled into the main area, nursing hangovers. Shadows handed a shirt to Violet long enough for her to wear as a substitute for shorts.  
"Holy fuck..." Shadows murmered, rubbing his eyes.  
"Hmmhmmm," Raven agreed from the couch.  
Shadows began making them all coffee as Violet stared at his broad shoulders.  
Raven laughed as he walked by her, "Down girl."  
Shadows turned around and caught Violet's gaze, "Did we succeed?"  
Knight sleepily got out his tablet and Googled away. Entertainment Tonight had a special report.  
"Apparently the Duo Violet Shade and Raven Knight had a formal night on the town with their newest band, Avenged Sevenfold. Instead of Fifty Shades of Grey, though, the group dressed up and tore down the Rainbow Room on Friday night. Despite still insisting that they are not dating, M. Shadows got up on stage and dedicated a song to one of their new producers, Violet, before waltzing the night away..."  
When they turned on the t.v., the local news had a similar story, but with someone's cell phone video of Zacky doing the tango with Violet. Zacky blushed, but owned it, nudging Violet, "We look good."  
"Avenged Sevenfold invaded the Rainbow Room last night with antics that lit up the night. The singer, Matt Shadows, took the stage and dedicated a song to Violet Shade, the producer he's not dating," the news anchor put air quotes around not dating, "Before waltzing around with her, followed by Zacky Vengeance, one of the guitar players, stealing the show by dancing the tango with Violet, steaming up the room with some of the sexiest stuff we're allowed to put on t.v.!"  
The other anchor fanned himself with the papers in his hand, "Who knew heavy metal guitarists knew how to tango!?"  
"Where did you learn how to do that?" Violet turned to him.  
Before he could answer, Shadows chimed in, "His mom."  
The others laughed as Zacky rolled his eyes and just put up his hands, "Haters gonna hate, but--" He pointed towards the tv as they played the video again.  
"Weren't you playing photographer last night? I vaguely remember this..." Johnny squinted, trying to remember.  
"Oh yeah..." Raven found his phone and transferred the pics to his tablet.  
"These are epic," Synyster nursed his coffee, "We should post some of them on our website and Facebook and whatever."  
"On it." Everyone agreed so Raven picked out some of the safe ones and sent them to their PR guy.  
Shadows stared at the pictures, some of them pretty risque, "We were making out last night?" He showed his dimples off as the couple looked at one another, looking at his hands disappearing under her dress.  
Violet sipped her coffee, "Anything else we don't remember?"  
"Zacky did wind up in our bed somehow," Shadows laughed, but kind of nervously. They all looked, horrified, at Zacky.  
"What?! I blacked out, I have no idea. Although I'm pretty sure I'd have a hard time getting anything up in that condition."  
Raven was the only one laughing, "Don't worry, I seem to remember you just passing out in the wrong room. Besides, everyone woke up in their clothes, right?"  
They all realized that and chuckled.


End file.
